Wild Appalachia
by jerseydanielgibson
Summary: "Armed with questions and a hunting rifle, I am the last to leave Vault 76 on Reclamation Day. I find myself in a world I've only heard of, growing up with stories of an America I've never seen yet I am to rebuild. Born in the Vault, I find myself in a hostile brave new world. Now outside, I find myself on the path of the Overseer. My name is Sam, and I am looking for my mother."
1. The Day We've All Been Waiting For, I

_Fallout 76/Universe is owned by Bethesda. _

**Personnel Quarters, Vault 76, Little Kanawha Mountain, West Virginia, USA, October 23, 2102**

The big day had come, Reclamation Day, and I had overslept it.

This wasn't apparent to me at first when I woke up in my bed of my own personal quarters inside of Vault 76, feeling like death had come by and puked down my throat and was slugging my skull with a mallet. I had never felt so terrible in my life, and if I had to admit it to myself (painfully), then I would have to say that I probably had overindulged a bit during the Last Night Party when the Vault-Dwellers were celebrating a day that they had been waiting for for twenty-five years and that I had been preparing for my whole life more-or-less. Reclamation Day was here, and the Vault had gotten together for one last proper luau to celebrate the efforts we had gone through… and the things we were about to accomplish.

And I had went and overslept while suffering a massive hangover.

I rolled out of my bed partially, my feet dangling as my head lolled, way too heavy for my neck as I groaned in suffering, feeling too hot as my head decided to play a Dean Martin track inside my own skull to remind me that perhaps I should lay off on the drinking. I couldn't remember actually drinking _that_ much, but then again I was certainly trying to drink with people who were older than I was, who had a lifetime to gain a tolerance, and bent the rules for me since it was Last Night. The Overseer had disapproved (that was her job, after all), but I felt it was a moral obligation to rebel against the rules, especially for Last Night. Being the youngest resident in the Vault led towards that conclusion, feeling it was my duty to be the Vault rebel.

It didn't hurt that the Overseer was my mother. That was just another token in the jukebox.

It took me a few minutes to wipe the gunk out of my eyes, lament my tortured condition, and find my pair of Jangles the Moon Monkey fuzzy slippers as I made a quick dash to my connected lavatory, finding the toilet easily enough to begin regurgitating the contents of my stomach, heaving several times as hot foul-tasting liquids were vomited out, leaving a sour taste in my mouth. I got to learn the art of holding my own hair back, leaning my head to one side while cradling the toilet, ejecting more sour bile and alcohol into the toilet. The next few minutes are spent hugging my toilet; I was suffering too much to realize how undignified it was as I rested my head on my arm against the toilet bowl seat, not even considering this was where my naked bum sat. My head was too heavy, I felt like sleeping to make the agony go away, and the inside of my mouth tasted like copper and bad orange juice.

Actually, orange juice sounded pretty nice right about now.

I don't know how long it took me to unpeal myself from the toilet, but I did it in a semi-clumsy manner, still trying to hold my head upright while walking as if I was magically four times my own age, everything stiff and sore. Why did my body have to act so stiff and achy, too? Wasn't my head hurting bad enough? Lamenting about it did nothing but indulge in my own melodramatic whinging as I puttered back into my bedroom, looking at the Wakemaster 3000 Alarm Clock that sat on the head bureau of my bed, blearingly looking at the time.

The short hand was on the eight. The long one on thirteen. 08:13 in the morning?

The Vault would be opening up at Noon, a little more than three hours from now.

That nap was sounding better and better. Mom would come find my soon enough, no doubt.

I flopped back on my bed, rocking out in my Vault-Tec pajamas that I somehow managed to get myself into after the party without knowing it, and I used the pillow to knock myself out pretty good, half of my leg dangling off the mattress as I snuggled my warm, warm, comfortable bed as I sunk past my throbbing head and aching body, embracing the comfort and the sleep monster that came and pounced me.

When I woke up again, it was 11:32 in the morning.

I was feeling a good deal better as I sat up and stretched, only feeling a lingering bit of throbbing in my head and achy-ness in my body, much more bearable than before. Feeling pleasant, I turned to look at my bed's headboard where my alarm was sitting next to my holotape player, the cassette still in the holder as I pressed it down and hit the play button to play the tape that I called _Awesome Mix, Volume One_ as the sweet voice of Dion came to rescue me.

"_Oh, I'm the type of guy who will never settle down,  
__Wherever pretty girls are, well you know that I'm around.  
__I kiss 'em and I love 'em, 'cus to me they're all the same,  
__I hug 'em and I squeeze 'em, they don't even know my name…"_

"They call me the wanderer, yeah I'm the wanderer," I began to sing with Dion, "I go around and round and round and round." I get out of my bed and kick off my Jangles slippers as I went to my dresser and open up a drawer to find my danties in the top drawer, pulling out a clean bra and panties, setting them on top of the dresser as I go to the next one below it where the undershirts and socks were at, pulling out a pair of each before I go to the third drawer to see several sets of Vault-Tec Vault Suits, that cheerful cornflower blue with gold-embossed thread and numbers greeting me as they had every day of my life. I shuck off my Vault-Tec jammies and toss them into a laundry hamper and head towards my personal shower as I continue to sing _The Wanderer_ with Dion as I turned on the water and adjusted it to the way I liked it; just this side of scalding. I stand under the flow of water as the tape goes to the next track that I know by heart, shampooing my long brunette hair as I begin to sing along with Nat King Cole.

"_Love me… as though there were no tomorrow.  
__Take me… out of this world tonight.  
__Take me… make me forget my sorrow,  
__So when I wake… tomorrow; __I'll know that our love was right._

_Kiss me… as if it were now or never.  
__Teach me… all that a heart should know.  
__Love me… as though there were no tomorrow.  
__Oh my darling, love me; d__on't ever let me go."_

"Love me, as though there were no tomorrow…" I sang as I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair after lathering it, "Oh… my… darling… love me… don't ever let me… go." I finished the song with Nat as I flipped my hair forward to get all the shampoo suds out before getting a bottle of conditioner and squeezing the goo into my hands and working it into my hair and scalp, from root to tip before flipping it back behind me.

"OOO-hoo-hooo-ooo…hoo-ooo-hoo-ooo… sixty-minute man!" I began singing the next song as I got my body wash and squirted it in my loufa, my left foot tapping to the song by Billy Ward and the Dominos. "Sixty-minute ma-aa-aa-an!"

"_Lookie here, girls, I'm telling you now,  
__They call me Lovin' Dan.  
__I rock 'em, roll 'em, all night long,  
__I'm-a… sixty-minute man! (Yeah-yeah-yeah!)_

_If you don't believe I'm all I say,  
__Come up and take my hand.  
__When I let you go, you'll cry 'oh yes!',  
_'_He's-a… sixty-minute man!'_

_There'll be fifteen minutes of kissin',  
__Then you'll be hollerin' 'don't stop', (don't stop!)  
__There'll be fifteen minutes of teasin', fifteen minutes of squeezin',  
__And then fifteen minutes of blowing my top!_

_If you want a man of treatin' you right,  
__Come up and see ol' Dan,  
__I rock 'em, roll 'em, all night long,  
__I'm-a… sixty-minute man!"_

By the time I finished the song, I had finished lathering my body with my unscented body wash, cleaning out the residue for my loufa before standing under the shower to rinse my hair and body off, taking a few more minutes to enjoy the heavenly shower. It seemed to leak away the aches and pains that I was suffering before, and when I turned off the flow of water and wrapped myself with a monogrammed towel with the 'VT' logo on one corner and took another towel and wrapped my hair with it to dry it out, I was feeling much better as Peggy Lee came on, and I began to sing along as I started to dry myself off.

"_Play the guitar, play it again, my… Johnny.  
__Maybe your cold, but you're so warm… inside.  
__I was always a fool… for my Johnny.  
__For the one they call… Johnny Guitar._

_Play it again… Johnny Guitar._

_What if you go, what if you stay, I… love you.  
__What if you're cruel, you can be kind, I know.  
__There was never a man, like my Johnny.  
__Like the one they call… Johnny Guitar._

_There was never a man, like my Johnny.  
__Like the one they call… Johnny Guitar._

_Play it again… Johnny… Guitar."_

I went from drying my body off to drying my hair as Dion came back on. God Mom hated my _Awesome Mix_, me having selected the songs from the Vault library when I was twelve and didn't even know what half the songs _really_ meant. No doubt having a twelve-year old girl singing about a _sixty-minute man_ with no idea what that was in reference to was undoubtedly a source of stress for my Mom. As I began singing the next song, I actually remember Mom sitting me down and telling me what it actually meant.

"Here's my story, it's sad but true," I sang as I began to dry my hair a section at a time, "it's about a girl that I once knew… she took my love and ran around…" I continue scrubbing my hair with the towel, "…with every single guy in town."

"_Hey-hey, bomb-ba-diddy-diddy, hey-hey, bomb-ba-diddy-diddy,  
__Hey-hey, bomb-ba-diddy-diddy, hey-hey, bomb-ba-diddy-diddy,  
__Wooooaaaaahh, oh-woah-woah-ooooh, oh-woah-woah-oooooh,_

_Dat-dat-dat,_

_Hey-hey, bomb-ba-diddy-diddy, hey-hey, bomb-ba-diddy-diddy,  
__Hey-hey, bomb-ba-diddy-diddy, hey-hey, bomb-ba-diddy-diddy,  
__Wooooaaaaahh, oh-woah-woah-ooooh, oh-woah-woah-oooooh,_

_Ba-ahhhhhhh!"_

"Yeah, I should have known from the very start," I start singing as I dried my hair, "this girl who left me with a broken heart. A-listen people on what I'm telling you…

"…keep away from a-Runaround Sue! A-yeah-yeah!

"_I'm miss her lips and the smile on her face,  
__The touch of her hair and this girl's warm embrace.  
__So if you don't want to cry like I do…  
_"_A-keep away from a-Roundaround Sue! A-woah-woah!_

"_Hey-hey, bomb-ba-diddy-diddy, hey-hey, bomb-ba-diddy-diddy,  
__Hey-hey, bomb-ba-diddy-diddy, hey-hey, bomb-ba-diddy-diddy,  
__Wooooaaaaahh, oh-woah-woah-ooooh, oh-woah-woah-oooooh,_

_Ba-ahhhhhhh!"_

"She likes to travel around," I moved from the roots to the tips of my hair, rubbing the towel and my hair between my hands, "she'll love you but she'll put you down. Now people let me put you wise… Sue goes out with other guys!" I sing out loud as I toss the towel towards the laundry hamper. "Here's the moral and the story from a guy who knows," I pick out my panties, "I fell in love and my love still grows. Ask any fool that she ever knew," I slip them on and grab my bra, "They'll say keep away from a-Runaround Sue!" I clip the hooks into their catches in front of me before I spin the undergarment around and slip my arms through the straps, adjusting the strap and cups to a more comfortable fit. The next song came up by the Marcels with me singing along.

"_Bom-ba-da-ma-bom, da-da-ma-bom-bom, da-da-dang-dang-dang, da-da-de-de-de-Blue Moon.  
__Moon-moon-moon, Blue Moon. De-dede-de-Blue-blue-blue-Blue Moon. De-dede- Blue Moon-moon-Blue Moon.  
__Bom-ba-da-ma-bom, da-da-ma-bom-bom, da-da-dang-dang-dang, da-da-de-de-de-Blue Moon._

_Blue Moon…  
__you saw me standing alone  
__Without a dream in my heart,  
__Without a love of my own!_

"Blue moon…" I sing as I slip on my undershirt and pull it down to my hips, "you know just what I was there for, you heard me say a prayer for, someone I could really care for!" I begin to slip my Vault Suit on, looking at the time. It's 11:50, and no doubt Mom's probably going to bend my ear if I'm late. I don't doubt she's got some speech or whatnot for Noon for Reclamation Day, and I'll never hear the end of it if I'm late to something that the Vault's been waiting for for the past twenty-five years.

Probably shouldn't have slept in.

Zipping up my Vault Suit, I run a quick hairbrush through my brunette locks to make it somewhat managable and not like I just had a horrible hangover as I take a hairband and slip it behind my ears and push it up over my hair to keep it out of my face and at least making the front look presentable as I look at my tosseled bed, the clothes semi-hanging out of the laundry hamper, and the fact that I hadn't really cleaned up after packing everything into my duffel bag for Reclamation Day.

Hey, I'm nineteen. I'm suppose to bend and flout rules.

I head out after turning off my holotape player, promising myself that I would grab _Awesome Mix Volume One_ before heading out so that _Awesome Mix Volumes Two_ through _Ten_ would be together as I walk through the small personal quarters that were issued to me when I was sixteen years old, seeing a slightly-unruly living quarters that had been picked through between _staying_ and _going_ amongst all my worldly goods for what I liked to call 'The Big Day'. Now the big day was here, and I found myself looking at my Vault room with wistful nostalgia before I head out through the access to meet with the others. I haven't even _left_ and I'm getting homesick?

Ugh. Mom would say _I told you so_.

I pass my Pip-Boy 2000 Mk. IV over the door's control access to open the door to my personal quarters and walk into an empty hallway where other quarters littered each side, where the other Vault-Dwellers lived for the past twenty-five years since the big Vault door closed on Vault 76, ensconcing the residence inside and protecting them for a nuclear war that happened before I was even born. I frowned at the sight of the empty hallway and figured that everyone was already in the Atrium and I was the only one silly enough to be running late as I head towards the large duel-floor room where the Last Night Party had been and undoubtedly where my Mom would address the residence with one final send off before Reclamation Day officially began.

Almost every single one of them had been preparing for this day for longer than twenty-five years, having gone to Vault-Tec University, selected for their intelligence and expertise, and sequestered into Vault 76 before the bombs fell. So no surprise, the late-comer (ha-ha) was going to be late, and I'd probably have everyone stare at me as I show up right at the last minute. Perfect.

I went through the Personnel Quarters section of the Vault and into the Atrium… and found it empty.

"Um… hello?"

Most of the Last Night Party evidence had been cleaned and swept away, but the banners proclaiming 'RECLAMATION DAY!' were still hanging off of the walls and guide rails of the open-air second floor as I walk into the Atrium to see that no one was around. Was the speech happening somewhere else? The Vault Door, perhaps?

"Ah! Miss Collins!"

I turned to see Crutchley, one of the Vault's resident Atomic General's Mr. Handy's, floating nearby in the Atrium's lower level. One of its gimbled eyes were focused on me as the lower body rotated while its spherical head stayed in place, changing which telescoping 'arm' faced me, selecting not to have its blade, pincher, or miniaturized blowtorch point at me.

"Crutchley! Where is everyone?" Crutchley was my friend when I was a little girl, a child without other children to play with. I don't know how I came to recognize Crutchley out of the two dozen other Mr. Handy's in the Vault when I was younger, but I remember playing with the Atomic General's robotic assistant for hours every day with whatever imaginary games a little girl could come up with. Despite the dozens of Mr. Handy's, I knew and recognized Crutchley on the spot, the little nicks and buffs on his metallic case, the way he would spin or move his 'eye'. Likewise, Crutchley was the only one who had played with me when I was a child. "Are they at the Vault Door?"

"Miss Collins, everyone has left." The Mr. Handy told me, stupefying me for a moment.

"Wai-wai-wait. What do you mean 'everyone's' already left?" I ask, my voice sounding exactly what I was feeling; shock with a hint of betrayal. "The door opens at noon! That's only a few minutes from now."

"Miss? It's nearly midnight."

_Oh my God, this can't be happening…_

"M-Midnight? I slept though an entire day? How is that even possible?" I felt the sudden urge to cry, grief and anger exploding with me. I had lived my entire life in the Vault, knew every one of the five hundred Residents, had grown up with them! And then… they just _left_ me? Went out the door without one of them looking around for the Vault's youngest resident? Hy hear twisted sharp in my breast at the thought of five hundred people on a great exodus… and me not being there. Tears burned my eyelids as the stab of betrayal came sharp and hard. "You're telling me they _left me behind_ on Reclamation Day?" That couldn't be possible! I was literally the Vault's _future_! The only child born within its confines! Vault 76 had been created to house five hundred trained scientists, Doctors, engineers, physicists, technicians, and civil-trained personnel to go forth after twenty-five years sequestered in the Vault to reclaim America. To rebuild, to grow, to bring about a better future after a great and devastating war. I was one of those very goals; children were the future!

And they left me behind?

No, that couldn't be possible. There was at least one person who wouldn't have left without me at her side. She would be sick with worry if I hadn't been there at noon.

"Crutchley, where's my mother? Where's the Overseer?" I asked, looking at the main eye focusing on me as its reticle expanded slightly.

"Overseer Barbeau left Vault 76 at a minute after midnight, Miss Collins. Nearly twenty-four hours ago." The Mr. Handy told me in his robotic voice, and I felt myself getting dizzy, swaying on me feet as the room swam a little.

They… they left me. They _all_ left me, including the one person I never, _ever_ thought would have ever done that.

Overseer Adrienne Barbeau. My mother.

"I… I think I'm going to be sick." I muttered, my stomach going sour with the revelation as I stood in a Vault, it's sole occupant. Five hundred people just up and left without looking back, not one person looking for _me_? I find myself leaning against the nearby wall for support as hot tears ran down my cheeks, the grief winning over the anger. No, there was no way my Mom would have just _left_ without me, without telling me. She raised me for nineteen years! To just… vanish? At the stroke of midnight while everyone else was partying or sleeping it off?

Like I was?

"Miss Collins, the Overseer left you some things in her office for you to explain the situation. She said it was most imperative that you listen to them after everyone else had left." Crutchley told me, and what he had said… stopped my grief for a moment.

_Wai… what?_

"Wai… what?" That sounded a lot like I was _meant_ to be last, not merely abandoned. Mom had… done this? But why?

I needed to know.

I was already moving towards the Overseer's office, wiping away my tears as the anger, grief, and betrayal faded towards something a little more vindictive, a little more… it wasn't curiosity. It was a need, it was powerful, and I had to know. _Determination_, perhaps. I went through the Atrium and up the stairs to the second level, going onto the plated catwalk that would access my mothers' office as I went to the door and passed my Pip-Boy over the control access, only to get a denial beep. That… was a first.

"_Voice print identification, please."_ A robotic feminine voice came, surprising me. That was new, too.

"Samantha Lynn Collins." I said, trying not to sniffle my way towards the strange question. What was going on?

"_Voice print identification confirmed. Thank you for choosing Vault-Tec."_ That had me snort as I sniffled a little, wiping away the last of my tears as the door slid open to my mother's office that overlooked the Atrium. I walked into a room that was so familiar to me; the large desk that dominated the center, a small bank of monitors that were now dark, a few work-related and personal items on the desk, and the terminal that my mother worked on. I remembered this office well, having played in it when I was a child until I got to be too big and energetic to be confined to an office with a woman working on managing a Vault. The sight of framed pictures of me on the wall along with taped-up drawings I had done decorated the office wall to the right of the desk, and seeing that made me smile. No, there was no way Mom just _left_ me. I knew we had been butting heads on and off for a couple of years (I am a teenaged girl, after all), but we loved each other. She was my Mom, and I was her daughter.

There was no way she would abandon me. Something else was going on.

On the desk were four items that weren't there before, sitting next to the Vault-Tec Terminal. Three of them were holotapes. The last was a holotape player.

Each was labeled _To Sam_ with a corresponding number as to which to play first.

I sat in my mother's chair, my hands touching the armrests, remembering spinning in this very chair, giggling like a little girl as Mom spun me about, calling it a 'merry-go-round'. I remembered snuggling up to her while she worked, looking so stressed that even my youthful self noticed and did the only thing a child could; giving her a hug. I remember being older, coming to the Overseer's office about my grades and homework as a Vault full of scientists, engineers, and technicians tried to beat me to death with education, teaching me to be like them; one of the best and brightest. That hadn't panned out quite as hoped, being merely mediocre in most everything save mechanical skills; I was good with my hands, but that was it. I remembered… the arguments, the tense times, the Overseer having to look upon a Resident and not a mother upon her child. The past few years, things had been… strained. I was a young woman couped up in a Vault where everyone was at least twenty-six years older than I was, the next 'youngest' person having turned forty-five this year. Now my mother wasn't here and I was regretting those silences and quiet resentments.

I looked to the holotapes, and saw _To Sam #1_. I took the cassette, and plugged it into the opened tray before closing it.

Then I hit 'play'.

* * *

Author's Note: While I've done a few Fallout FanFics before, I've never released any of them. This is my first effort for Fallout 76 (published or not), and I took a bit from the script of Fallout 3, that wonderful plot that had the Lone Wanderer looking for his/her father. But instead of you mysteriously 'sleeping in' and being abandoned, I came up with another reason for The Resident to miss the green light. And it ties in with the fact that she's the only child in the Vault. PLOT IS INVOLVED!

In FO76 Canon, there were supposedly children in the Vault, the Overseer mentioning that the opening of the doors finally beating the excitement of 'the first Vault child born', suggesting there had been children, and possibly multiple of them. Which makes since that a population would have kids over a span of 25 years. A part of this story will explain how that was handled (plus the awesomeness of Vault-Tec and their creative projects) with why Sam is the only one, how, and why. I worked it out. I think you might like where I'm going with it.

For the unnamed Overseer, I went with the voice actor's name, Adrienne Barbeau. Samantha Lynn Collins I borrowed from my Mass Effect Fanfics, the OC Marshal of Therum from _Where The Law Stands Tall_ and _Of Lions And Angels_. Mostly because she's an established character in my mind and I already have massive bio pertaining to her that I'm very familiar with.

The holotape player I liken to a portable cassette player. Yes, I'm old enough to remember those. You... do know what I'm talking about, right? I'm trying to remember when they stopped officially making those. It's been... twenty years, probably.

And I stole Peter Quill's _Awesome Mix_. The playlist comes from some Spotify playlist, and I randomly selected some rather inappropriate songs for a young girl to be singing out loud (Dion's _The Wanderer_, Billy Ward and the Dominos' _Sixty Minute Man_, Dion's _Runaround Sue_) with a mix of some classics (Peggy Lee's _Johnny Guitar_, Nat King Cole's _Love Me As If There Were No Tomorrow_, and the Marcel's cover of _Blue Moon_). Since Fallout is particularly famous for its 30's-60's pop music, to not use it is a little criminal. And typing in all those _bomb-ba-da-ta-bombs_ was a righteous pain.

I don't know the name of the lookout/mountain that Vault 76 happens to be impaled in. Looked up physical maps of the West Virginia area (sadly the game map isn't that accurate) but I've got a paint file plopped where V76 should be compared to State Route 86 and Flatwood are (yes, Flatwood WV is a real town).

As for the many quests, events, and the MMORPG that Fallout 76 happens to be, you'll just have to read and see. But I have worked this out. You're not going to be the only living thing in existence.


	2. The Day We've All Been Waiting For, II

_Fallout 76/Universe is owned by Bethesda. _

**Overseer's Office, Vault 76, Little Kanawha Mountain, West Virginia, USA, October 24, 2102**

_CASSETTE NUMBER #1_

"_Overseer's Log, Day 1._

"_It's October 23, 2177, and we have officially closed the Vault doors approximately ten minutes prior to 9:47. Most everyone is under the impression that we picked that time because war is inevitable and it's better to be safe than sorry. Only ten of us in Vault 76 know the real truth._

"_Everything was going smoothly and according to plan when an unfortunate discovery was made. Our residents were getting their personal quarter assignments while our project leaders were getting maps to their division wings when one of the residents discovered no less than _five_ teenaged kids inside our Vault, somehow having slipped inside before we had entered, bypassing our security team and our security measures! The gall of it has me incensed as I'm looking at three boys and two girls who should have been at home on a Saturday morning. Robert Hershel, our Security Chief, has them in the security office in lockdown right now, and we're interrogating them to find out what happened and why they were here._

"_Jesus… hanky panky. Someone had decided to give their parents the slip and went into a Vault for discrete bouts of teenaged sex while we were closing the doors and sealing ourselves for a world that by now no longer exists._

"_It took some time to get answers from the kids, but thankfully separating them bore fruit, mostly from the two younger ones. _

"_Michael Fremont, Brian Jensen, and Lucas Collins are the boys, ranging from Michaels' nearly sixteen years of age to Lucus' barely fourteen. Michael, or Mike, is the obvious leader, a mouth-breathing bully if I ever saw one. Some backwoods jock who's probably the terror of his high school. Brian Jensen, almost sixteen himself and in the same grade as Mike, is the boy's faithful thug follower, another mouth-breather who plays the muscle for Mike and his little reign of terror, no doubt. Lucas is different. Two grades fewer and almost two years younger, he's average in every way compared to Mike and Brian; smaller, weaker, yet smarter, I think. When asked why he was with Mike and Brian and their obvious differences in height, muscle, and attitude, Lucas meekly claimed that it was better to be friends with a bully than not. That's… a surprising level of intelligence and resourcefulness for a kid that age. Probably got teased by the two obvious bullies, but he didn't go home looking like hamburger. He's the not-so yes man that came to terms early on figuring out that being in the big man of campus' shadow would protect him from some of the worse cruelties of teenaged childhood. I think if we gave the kid an aptitude test, we'd be pleasantly surprised._

"_The girls are Vicky Trawlers and Rose Miller. Vicky is an almost-fifteen-going-on-thirty teenage girl that is every parent-of-a-daughters' nightmare; she's the supposed girlfriend/squeeze of Michael Fremont. Girl's too dense to realize that she's practically told us that she and Mike have been doing the horizontal bop for months while she runs around with other guys (and he with other girls). Trailer trash princess that's probably latched onto the big fish in the small pond, a little gold digger who uses her body to get away with as much as possible. Rose on the other hand is about thirteen-and-a-half; the differences between her and Vicky are apparent, as Vicky dresses like a teenaged tart while Rose is still practically in pigtails and wearing a Saturday morning cartoon shirt proclaiming that she's still a child in mind and personality. How she ended up in a Vault is the fact that Vicky and her are cousins; their mothers are sisters. Vicky has evidently been caught doing 'bad things' by her folks, and Rose blushed hard enough saying that to suggest she has a pretty good idea what that means. So Rose was connected to the teenage girl's hip as deterrence; can't have sex in front of your too-young cousin if she's in the same room, right? Sadly, this was where Lucas fits in; he was honest entertainment, keeping the young girl occupied with talking and God knows favorite Silver Shroud episodes and comic books while Vicky played pickle with both Mike and Brian. Yes, the little harlot was with them both, either tag-team or at the same time. Model Citizen, right there._

"_They, of course, all want to go home, and both Lucas and Rose are near-tears and clutching at each other at the thought of 'big trouble'. The older kids are more dismissive, evidently they've been caught before which was why Rose and Lucas were included because Rose needed a babysitter and Lucas was the obvious choice for someone who would treat a girl nice so she wouldn't go home running and crying because she's too young to flirt with. _

"_I gave them the news. Mike and Vicky don't believe me like I actually give a shit about their little petty lives and ambitions. Brian… I think Brian realized that I would have no reason to lie, and he's been quiet; a big bully just got leveled out for the first time, and he's reeling. Lucas and Rose are in tears. That broke my heart, it's pretty obvious that they are good kids who got caught up with the wrong people. I let them hold each other for a few moments, and I do my best to comfort them as well. They weren't here to flout rules, and got dragged into this by kids older than they, ones they wouldn't be able to ignore or overrule._

"_Bad decisions, but it saved their lives._

"_The residents know of our unexpected additions. Had the security team check everything to make sure there isn't a surprise high school football team with a surprise high school cheerleader squad somewhere. Chief Hershel wants to find out who fumbled at their job, but it doesn't really matter. The kids are here, the Vault is locked, and everything else outside is dead, dying, or wish it was dead. Milk's been spilt already._

"_This is Overseer Adrienne Barbeau, signing off."_

_[crackle]_

* * *

"_Overseers' Log, Day 10. November 2, 2077._

"_It's been ten days since the Vault's been closed, and everyone's situated. Habits are forming, schedules are getting the kinks worked out, and projects that have been looked at with anticipation are now starting their first baby steps. People are happy and working. Yeah, it's been ten days, but no one's feeling claustrophobic or shut in. I'll take the victories where I can._

"_The kids. God, what a mess right there._

"_I separated them from the start for interrogations, just finding out how everything went down, and then I more or less kept them separated to keep them out of mischief, especially Mike and Vicky. _

"_Surprisingly, Brian Jensen is being rather compliant; I think he realizes that he dodged a silver bullet, that he's stuck here, and the obvious follower now knows that Mike isn't the authority anymore. Actually, I have to say he's gotten a little of a shift in personality going on; he's been rather meek and quiet. I had him do an aptitude test and a skills test and, no surprise, he's the classic jock. Good thing is that he can be quite useful even if he's the classic backwoods West Virginian; semi-educated and good with his hands. I put him with some of the men from the Security Team to give him a good dose of proper authority, responsibility, and respectability, trying to mold the brute into a man of honor and respect. Thankfully, I have a stellar role model in Colonel Andrew Vince, Bachelor's in Aerospace Engineering from West Point, a Bronze Medal winner in the Olympic Decathlon, and a Medal of Honor Recipient in the Anchorage Campaign. Talked to Andrew about this, and the Colonel sees what I'm doing, promising to foster the boy and teach him to be a security officer. I think a few years of being tutelage by one of America's Finest will have Brian turn into something positive. I'm hopeful, actually._

"_Lucas Collins was tested as well, and it was I had suspected; higher-than-average intelligence, mostly hidden to keep from getting the shit kicked out of him by dum-dums. Kid just turned fourteen the previous month, so gaging a job for him will be a little more difficult, but he did express the interest in thoughts that lead me to believe that engineering might just be the thing the kid needs to keep his brain and hands occupied. He's got a good head on his shoulders and was only involved in any shenanigans with the older boys so as to avoid being crushed by the steamroller. Doctor Travis Sullivan might be a good choice, Doctorate in Engineering from Golden State University. He's suppose to be in Sanitation Engineering, but I think we'll make him a little more broad-scoped to see what Lucas feels like about Engineering and its many applications. Still, having someone with the title of 'Doctor' in their name and able to create just about anything with his hands would be a nice kickstart for young Lucas Collins._

"_Rose Miller, sadly, is really just too young. She isn't infantile or slowly-developed, she really is just a kid that hasn't hit that magical barrier in our lives; puberty. She is smart for her age, claims to have A's and B's in school, and is even a Girl Pioneer Scout. So obviously we got ourselves a little diamond in the rough, someone that had parents that actually cared to raise their kid right. I tentatively gave her an aptitude test and was pleasantly surprised that she did as well as she did at her age; some of those questions aren't meant for middle schoolers. She's probably the brightest of the bunch but just a year or two younger than everyone else in an age where age is everything. I saw that she scored pretty damn high in all things biology-related, even knowing the Eight Classifications of Species; Kingdom, Phylum, Genus… those things I can't brother to remember. Probably was just taught it and had to memorize it. Still, the fact is that the girl also described her 'volunteer' work with the Girl Pioneers, and she's certainly past the age most drop out from, usually ten. It's obvious she's in it for her Ambassador Rank; that's held in as high regard as the Eagle Rank for the Boy Pioneers in the US Government, and anyone who has that on their resume is usually pushed to the front of the line employment-related. She has a kind heart, loves animals, goes to church every Sunday, volunteers, does good in school. She's the model daughter, and this has really broken her heart. I paired her up with one of our younger women, Jill Thompson. Jill's got a Masters' in Chemistry, and she's young and pretty enough to make a good impression for a young-but-growing young girl. _

"_That's… where the gems end._

"_Vicky Trawlers I had pegged from the start; trailer trash princess. She's petty, manipulative, and noisily complains about doing anything that involves her doing more than batting an eyelash or tumbling into a bed with someone. Noisily insists that none of this is, quote, her fault, and I almost expected the accusations of rape or sexual assault to commence except either the girl's too dim or she knows no one would believe her. She scoffed at the thought of doing an aptitude test, claimed that 'this' wasn't school, but finally I just locked the door until she finished the examination. She did beyond dismal, so I assumed she just answered whatever to get out of a locked room. Proceeded to hand the little hussy another test and told her to do better or she would be living in the lockdown room for the next several days. Of course she was already complaining how 'I couldn't do that too her' with as loud as an indigent tone… but then I closed the door and walked away from the walking feminine hand grenade. She finally finished after two hours, and while she did better, it wasn't by leaps and bounds. Girl's already figured out how her life's going to be; she was going to find whatever rising star she could get and wrap her thighs around it and ride that pony into the golden or pearly sunset. I had her sent to the medical ward to make sure she's not pregnant, God forbid this girl becomes a mother, and thankfully she isn't. Doctor Lambert has already done a workup to put Vicky on birth control to keep the little slut from making our lives even more difficult, and the girl had a problem with it. God, she's one of those who thinks getting knocked up will automatically cement a man to her side; moron. Vicky's going to be one of those who's going to need constant supervision, but surprisingly she did test well in communication skills and all things that are people-oriented. Not surprising if she's a petty manipulator, actually. Perhaps stuffing her in the Medical Ward and making her a nurse would do her some good. I'd have a hard time thinking of something else that would do well with her save waitressing._

"_Michael Fremont is the real problem. This boy is going to be a thorn in our sides, likely for the next twenty-five years. Aggressive, abrasive, dominate, and physical, he's also unfortunately a long-time bully that's probably been doing it since Kindergarden. Wouldn't listen to me at all since 'I was just a woman' and I slapped the little shits' face so hard I think I knocked his eyes back into his skull. But that comment wrote his life story for me; classic broken home where Dad is probably an alcoholic that beats Mom, and he learned it all from his Daddy. Even Vicky, as stupid as she is, should know to avoid men like this, but she's probably under the same impression that Lucas was; it was better to be with a man who would pummel the shit out of anyone that looked at her funny while slapping her around at night. God what a mess. I'm really having a hard time finding an occupation or person who might take Mike in; he's utterly disdainful of the fact that everyone here's college educated and bright in their field, and he's just a simple petty thug. I imagine that his life would have been of the simple blue collar variety, commercial contractor doing plumbing work or building fences while going drinking on the weekends while beating the wife and kids at night; the classic rube that gives good simple folk a bad name. So I'm sticking him to the maintenance/sanitation department so he can learn to use his hands and aggression on pipes and bolts instead of people. A few years of that might have him whistling a different tune. But I sincerely doubt he'll ever be a success story. _

"_This is Overseer Adrienne Barbeau, signing off."_

_[crackle]_

* * *

"_Overseers' Log, Day 46. December 8, 2077._

"_Things are still going smoothly in the Vault. For the most part, everyone's adjusted well with only minor issues that were easily solved. I wouldn't say the job runs itself, but I'm lucky. So I have my own project; the kids._

"_I see them everyday, talking to each of them, getting progress reports, giving advice, and just inquiring how they are doing. Everyone else here knew the rules and what to expect but these kids are practically outsiders. Establishing me in their minds as an authority figure as well as showing that I care for their education and well-being is a good start._

"_All five of them are being schooled, but separately. I have different members educating them in what they would have been taught at school, giving them both learning and discipline. This is unlike anything they've ever been through, no more meat grinder public school with thirty-plus kids in a classroom with a bored teacher droning on from a book with all the answers. We have Doctors and experts teaching them math, science, literature, and history, as well as subjects pertaining to our Vault to see what sticks. A little over a month has past, and my personal pet project is… bearing some fruit. _

"_Brian Jensen, Lucas Collins, and Rose Miller are are doing as well as I expected, if not better. _

"_Brian has firmly latched with Colonel Vince, and this little thug is slowly being molded into a man by a hero. He's really responding well with authority, is actually getting good marks in his classes though he's only about average intelligence. Yet I am happy with the progress, and pulling him out of that 'muscle' role and putting him somewhere better has really changed him in a positive manner. I saw him today and he was practically beaming that he passed a math quiz with an A, regular Algebra he should have already passed. Yet he is proud of himself, and it shows that he can learn now that he has better things to focus on. We have him training to be a security officer, and Chief Robert Hershel is putting him through a version of boot camp that has him being physical but with good discipline added to it. He's really responding well to the structure and integrity of it, and he's looking forward to being a security officer. When I asked him why, his answer broke my heart; 'to protect families'. I don't need to ask the rest; this is a child from a broken home, or at least a bad one. Yet he's firmly in the thought of using his muscles for good, and the boy's got the heart of a lion. Put him on the path and he's going to do well. Pretty damn proud of him, actually. When the Vault opens up, this is going to be the man who safeguard's everyone. He doesn't interact with Mike at all, and I'm not really sensing any lost love from the lackey. I think he's finally becoming a man, a real one._

"_Lucas is getting nothing but glowing reports from all of his teachers as well as Doctor Travis Sullivan. I was right; the boy is bright. He does well in school, and is taking to new things quite well, having already advanced whatever education he had and likely was probably sadly lacking considering the local high school is probably a cesspool of mediocrity. Put him in a room full of educated people, and he listens. Give him problems, and he'll work them out, and he'll correct mistakes he's made. He's learning and growing, and I've already had him buddy up with a few of our Engineers to see what he like and what he responds to. He's actually doing well on all front for that, and shows aptitude in drafting and mechanical engineering. This kid might be the crackerjack engineer that's the jack-of-all-trades that everyone loves to have. I knew from the start that this was going to be a good case, and Lucas has already exceeded my expectations. Plus, he really is a sweet boy to talk to. I'm going to enjoy watching him grow up._

"_Rose Miller is doing well publicly, but she's a traumatized young girl. Most of the others haven't really come to the realization that everything outside the Vault is dead or worse, but Rose, the youngest, certainly is coming to grips with the fact that her family is dead. I have the suspicion that she probably had the best household of the five; a good Mom, a good Dad, a good plan, and two parents who were attentive to their daughter and making sure she was raised right. Little girl's heartbroken at the thought that her family's gone and she'll never see them again, and that's when I learned she had a younger sister. That… was a heart breaker, and I held Rose as she wept and wept and wept over the little girl who was introduced into her life when she was seven, helping Mom with some of the womanly duties of diapers and whatnot for her baby sister. God, that meant the little girl was only five. I held Rose as she cried, and I'll admit that I got my own dose of realization as well. Intellectually, I knew. Emotionally, there's a whole world of innocent children and good families that just got obliterated in nuclear hellfire that weren't in the Vaults, and now it haunts me to think that. Other than that, Rose is doing incredibly well. She was a good girl from the start, and this is just the continuation of a girl who had a structured life that would likely have her in college and further had it continued. Being taught by experts seems to really respond to her, and she practically gushes at the thought of doing biology. She's got an inner-animal lover in her, and this makes me happy; I now know where to coax her towards. Jill Thompson tells me the girl's got an astute mind for someone so young, and perhaps some biology and chemistry will be a good match for a girl who will have nothing but time learning two fields and being capable of it. I've got three shining success stories that I'm very much looking forward watching grow and mature. _

"_Of course, that leaves me with the backwood rubes._

"_Vicky Trawlers will be a difficult case to manage. She isn't really interested in education, probably assuming that she'll honey up some guy in the Vault to cater to her whims. Thankfully, a quiet word with department heads has made sure that Vicky _stays_ single; the girl's a damn walking land mine of drama and confrontation. She's especially catty towards the other females in the Vault, likely competitive in a petty Alpha Female way, and it's probably no shocker if I discover that she led a little gang of sluts just like herself, King Bitch over the court of Feminine Dominance. I keep Vicky away from both Rose and Michael for separate reasons. First, I don't want to hear about teenage humping between the hick and the trailer trash princess. Second, it's clear that Vicky is a tormentor to her own blood relation, Rose just too young to stand up to a girl almost two years her senior. There's a huge difference between thirteen-and-a-half and a now-fifteen year old. Vicky practically flouts that she has a set of tits like she's the only one, and certainly walks in a way to entice men to look at her jailbait ass. The last think I need is some oversexed girl trying to start shit with the ladies in the Vault, but thankfully the people here are leaps-and-bounds smarter and wiser than Vicky, and there's already been two incidences where Vicky got her ears pinned back by ladies for 'indecent acts'. It's clear that the women here aren't fooled by the girl and aren't going to suffer her shit. Conversations with her are sadly two sets of one-way streets; my words go right over her head, and all she does is complain how rotten everyone is to her without listening to the fact that it's a response to how she acts as oppose to some pettiness. Doctor Michelle Lambert isn't thrilled with me having placed Vicky in her Medical Ward, but it's staffed with women who succeeded through work and dedication instead of flouting their vaginas, and the girl does need constant supervision to make sure she's actually doing something instead of buffing her fingernails or rolling her eyes. Classic tart. If this doesn't work, I'm going to make her balance books on her head until osmosis sets in and can actually claim she knows something else besides flouting her boobs, shaking her ass, and opening her thighs._

"_Michael Fremont has been nothing but trouble from the start, and has actually gotten worse. Mike regularly flouts any kind of authority, doesn't seem to understand that absolutely everyone else is smarter than he, including Vicky surprisingly, and has no want in helping out or doing anything. While I'm not interested in becoming a tyrant and locking him up in a room, just about everything else has failed. He's already been through several people in the hopes of being a role model or guiding light, is completely sexist towards women when he isn't flirting like a drunken jackass might, completely blows off any kind of education, and barely makes an attempt at an occupation as maintenance and repair. Talking to the little shit strains my patience; he obviously has an issue seeing a woman as 'over' him, and when he proclaimed that 'all women were sluts anyhow', I had him remanded to lockdown for a full day. I don't think 'time out' worked to well despite he physically couldn't leave the quarters, but I'm… stumped. I've gone around for any advice from our pair of child psychologists, a couple of people with social work history, our pediatrician, and two of our former police officers. I'm still working with our advice, but I think the writing on the wall is clear; Mike Fremont might be a lost cause and a write off._

"_Damn it, I don't want to fail a kid._

"_This is Overseer Adrienne Barbeau, signing off."_

_[crackle]_

"_Overseers' Log, Day... it's February 17, 2078._

"_We suffered our first death. I… [pause] God, I did everything. I practically handed the kid a great life wrapped up in a bow. We had people practically running over each other in the attempt to try and help. I could have made him a Doctor, an engineer, a Goddamn rocket scientist! I could have… [sob] I… I don't know if the failure was mine or if it was from God knows when, but I'm the one that now has to eulogize over the body of a boy._

"_Mike Fremont is dead. Dead by our own hand, I'm afraid._

"_Only… seven people know the truth. I didn't lie because I did something wrong, but I didn't want people to grow alarmed that a sixteen year old child was attempting to open the Vault door. That… damn idiot thought we were _lying_ to him! Like… he was important enough as an individual to keep in the dark for some reason and everyone was in on it! Mike was using his Pip-Boy _I_ issued him and attempting to access the remote activation sequence to escape. Thankfully, the moron hadn't paid attention to anything that we were trying to teach him, and he was merely pressing buttons to see which one worked. But the problem was that there was a real possibility that he could open the Vault door and kill us all. Not remote, not statistical anomaly; it's a three-button sequence and that little shit was pressing all of them! I… changed that, stupid in hindsight, but I guess I should have entertain the thought someone might grow bold over the next twenty-five years and assume that things couldn't be that bad. Security Officer James Callahan had to take the shot on my order, and Michael Fremont died with a bullet in his chest. James… isn't doing that great, though I'm talking to him to help him through his guilt and telling him that it's on me. But he pulled the trigger on a kid, and that's not something that goes away. I know James understands, I know he doesn't blame me for making that decision, and he knows we tried, just…_

"_Goddamn it, Mike… I really did truly and utterly fucking tried to give you a better life. Now I have to make you sound like a saint before the Vault._

"_The Vault's under the impression that he was attempting some electrical repairs and that he wasn't wearing the proper safety gear. No one needs to see a sixteen year old kid with a gunshot wound. The residents are in mourning, but I don't think it's because they actually missed him. I'm sure for many they feel like I do; we really were trying to make something out of the punk, but now that chance was taken away by his own idiocy. _

"_Brian Jenson, his former bully friend… is a little morose, but not really broken up. He's grown in the past couple of months, and our talks have evolved into him admitting things he now feels guilt about doing before. Not pleasant conversations, but he's growing and evolving, and I take is words in confidence and I return give him confidence. He recognizes that Mike was just a bad person, and that he himself was well on that way. It's a bit of a comfort to know that I did the same things for Brian as I did for Mike, and that it was in fact working. It was just… damn it. Idiot kid. Shouldn't talk ill of the dead, but I'm just as frustrated as I am sorry._

"_Vicky Trawlers seemingly couldn't care less. Little minx had forgotten Mike some time ago as she attempted to work the field with guys in their mid-20's. Fell flat on her face, but she certainly wasn't looking back, either. I did let the kids have time together, but changed it when I saw where things were positive and things were negative. Vicky, for the most part, is sequestered from the other three. I don't even think she notices. Or cares._

"_Lucas Collins was an interesting reaction. I wasn't sure if he'd be sad or happy. Instead, he was surprisingly introspective of it. He knew that Mike hadn't been doing well at all, but instead of being indifferent, he lamented the fact that Mike had such a life as before that he couldn't accept anything else. Damn kid, where the hell did you learn that? I had to say that helped ease my mind a bit, Lucas really hitting the _crux_ of the situation. Whatever situation Mike had before, terrible or not, it was the situation he was most familiar with, and he resisted any change. That's why he was the 'big man on campus', probably having to learn to dominate by his abusive father, but then dropped into a situation where that would be impossible. Something like this… was going to happen regardless. And I got it handed to me by a fourteen year old. Good for you, Lucas. I'm certainly proud of you._

"_Rose Miller had a bit of a different reaction. While I wouldn't say she was joyous that Mike was dead, she seemed relieved. Not surprising; the guy had been fucking her cousin, and no doubt she realized that when she got older she would be on the market, too. Rose was wise enough to spot a bad apple who came to a bad end at his own hands though she doesn't know the truth of it. Surprisingly, she knew a little of Mike's past, and she mentioned that his father was 'ham-fisted police officer' who was a little _too_ excessive in the performance of his duties. That strangely sounds like adult words, probably her father or mother. When I gently ask if she knew what Miss Fremont did for a living, her response certainly didn't surprise me; punching bag. I hate to say that I failed him or didn't fail him, but I think that path started long before Michael Fremont brought his little sexpot into a Vault at a particular time on October 23rd. I guess I could say that he unknowingly saved the lives of children even if he was a complete and utter jerk. _

"_Days like this makes me wish I brought more of a private stock._

"_And Mike, wherever you are? I really did Goddamn try. Why couldn't you have accepted?_

"_This is Overseer Adrienne Barbeau, signing off."_

_[end tape]_


	3. The Day We've All Been Waiting For, III

_Fallout 76/Universe is owned by Bethesda. _

**Overseer's Office, Vault 76, Little Kanawha Mountain, West Virginia, USA, October 24, 2102**

_CASSETTE NUMBER #2_

"_Overseer's Log, May 27, 2081._

"_Today was a good day; graduation day for our kids. Well, for the most part._

"_It's been nearly four years since the door closed and we found ourselves five teenagers heavier than expected. Brian Jensen, Lucas Collins, and Rose Miller have spent more or less almost four full year being educated by the best and the brightest in Vault 76, which is filled with the best and the brightest. _

"_Brian, as a Security Officer, was given over to more construction-related objectives with the thought of building defenses, understanding repairs, and making do with tools and supplies and making the most of it. He was actually pretty happy with it, and what was once a fifteen-year old tough is now a tall, built nineteen year old young man who holds the respect of his peers and the residents of the Vault, and not at least a few of the twenty-something ladies in the Vault who probably have thoughts of tying him down and making a _real_ man out of him; a husband. I know that Brian has been pretty sweet on Abigail Lawrence, one of our production assistants, and I don't doubt that now he's proven himself with a degree under his belt and as a full-fledge Security Officer, he's probably going to be bending a knee to a woman five years his senior and popping the question. While I'm proud of Lucas and Rose, Brian was the case that I'm most proud of; this was a meathead thug that we've turned from coal into diamond. Colonel Andrew Vince is equally as proud, having molded a good man out of so much bad clay, really showing what we can be capable of. If we can do this, then rebuilding America from the ground up should be within our capabilities as well._

"_Lucas has, not surprisingly, taken to engineering quite well. Graduated with a degree in both civil and structural engineering, he's going to be the one rebuilding towns, roads, and bridges for us. That boy with the hint of intelligence in him has become a fine young man who is smart, polite, and eager for the day when the Vault opens up. He now works in our Engineering Department, mostly making sure the power plant is up to snuff, but with a project all of his own; hydroponics. He took my challenge of making more food and will be doing his best to make it a reality for everyone's benefit and… damn, I'm proud of him._

"_Rose has blossomed from the shy young girl into the beautiful swan of legend. Freshly seventeen, she has taken her examination and passed with flying colors; she's now a fully-qualified chemist with some work with biology. When the Vault opens up, she's going to make use of her skills to purify water since that will likely be a concern, and then be making medications, purifying food, and finding ways to grow food out in whatever we happen to find. And like her namesake, she has grown into a rose, a real stunner, my Dad would have said. Her and Lucas have more or less been an item for a couple of years, a kiddie crush that has slowly and maturely evolved into something real and substantial. I know we've all been counting the day when Lucas asks for Rose's hand in marriage, and like Brian, those two made sure they kept their efforts towards their schooling and goals. Now that they've graduated, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be officiating for two weddings here pretty soon._

"_Vicky… surprises me. She has gotten better over the years. It really all came to a head when, during one of our sessions when all she did was whine, I pegged the source of the problem and found the wake-up call she needed; she was just like the mother she despised. I had said something to that effect, having realized it over the several months Vicky had been in the Vault that likely she was acting just like her mother; some resentful tart who probably used men and sex to get what she wanted. I figured that the act Vicky had had to have been learned, but also despised by her younger self. So when I said something along the lines about her acting like the mother she never talked about, I don't think I could have slapped her hard enough to match the verbal blow I had given her. The young woman had a bit of a nervous breakdown, and I was right; she was acting like her mother did, and she despised her mother. That revelation had her changing. Not a vast improvement, but an improvement. Sadly, education-wise she wasn't that great, but she at least did well enough in the high school portion. She continues to work in the medical field, and she is a fully-qualified nurse now, no longer just an assistant. She has visibly improved with her demeanor and personality, though she still needs supervision to make sure she's doing things right. While not a great success story, we did get her to improve, she's in a profession she's at least good at, and she isn't trying to go around everyone's back and make a mess out of things. She's been on a bit of an on-again, off-again relationship with Joseph Montel, a Sanitation Engineer. Sadly, those two butt heads more often than not, but I think they like it that way. Still, no fists are involved, and no one's crying, so there's that._

"_I got to say, I'm pretty damn proud of those kids. Yes, Vicky, too, all things considered. I still think of Michael Fremont from time to time, but even after all these years, I can't think of another way I could have plausibly made a better effort or a different choice save permanently locking him up which wouldn't have been a positive route. Officer James Callahan hasn't had any issues in years since that incident. I don't even know how often he thinks of it._

"_This is Overseer Adrienne Barbeau, signing off."_

_[crackle]_

* * *

"_Overseers' Log, October 23, 2081._

"_Lucas Collins, you are a sneaky, clever bastard. This has you written all over it, and I have to applaud the man who got it right._

"_The day we've been waiting for, the announcement of an engagement between either Brian Jensen and Abigail Lawrence or Lucas Collins and Rose Miller? Someone went and doubled the ante in a way that damn if it didn't have every girl in the Vault swoon and sigh right out of a romance novel._

"_Both men popped the question on the very same day to their respective fiancees at the same time at different portions of the Vault; their departments. Both girls got to be the star of their little shows without being trumped or trumping another, everyone in their Departments got to congratulate them, and then when both girls found out that they had been proposed to _at the same time_ but in different locations, of course they were hugging and chattering and giggling, both of them feeling like a million bucks at the same time. Everyone congratulated them with rather thunderous applause, and it really was a sight to see. Both of them got to feel special and important, and while Brian isn't the thug anymore, this kind of cleverness was most certainly Lucas' doing. He must have gotten Brian to agree with it, explaining it to him what to do and why, and of course waited until the anniversary of the Vault when the doors were closed and we discovered kids inside. _

"_Lucas? Every damn woman is going to be talking about this day for _years_. You sneaky, clever bastard. You certainly got my admiration._

"_The rings were a bit of a nice touch, considering that there aren't exactly jewelry stores about. Both Lucas and Brian had worked on the both of them together, Lucas finding silver and both he and Brian somehow sneaking off to craft a pair of engagement rings. No diamonds, sadly, but it was surprisingly Brian who came up with the idea of getting Rose to come up with the material to make something similar without the chemist knowing; some graphene carbonite that can make a fake diamond with the right heat and pressure. The boys learned the art of ringmaking, and produced a pair of identical rings for their respective fiancees; smart, boys, very smart. It's been a few years since we had a wedding, but this was done so artfully that I'm pretty sure wives are looking at husbands and saying 'learn!'. _

"_The wedding day's won't be the same, thank God. The girl's worked it out, and Rose was the first to suggest that Brian and Abby get married first since, and this made me tear up, 'saw Brian like a brother'. The boy who was sport-fucking her cousin had really turned around, and so Rose deferred for them because she saw Brian like family. Brian and Abigail are officially moving in together just like Lucas and Rose are. The first wedding will be the week before February 14 and the second a week after; neither one of them gets Valentine's Day exactly, no toes are stepped on, and we'll have time to recover from our youngest residents' marriages. _

"_Kids, thank you for making this a great day._

"_This is Overseer Adrienne Barbeau, signing off."_

_[crackle]_

* * *

"_Overseers' Log, February 28, 2082._

"_The weddings went off without a hitch, but this isn't what it's about. It should be, but it isn't._

"_Rose… oh Rose. We were all struck stupid by it. I was in just as much shock as you. It should have been a joyous moment, but it was anything but._

"_Rose Collins is _pregnant_._

"_I… can't explain it. Over four years without a pregnancy thanks to the birth control that every woman is made to take. It's simple, really; Vault-Tec put enough food and supplies to feed exactly five hundred people for exactly twenty-five years; no more, no less. The zero pregnancy rule has been in effect since the doors closed. Yes, people have grumped, and I don't blame them. Which is why I have the chemists, engineers, medical personnel, and botanists working on The Project; hydroponic food. My rule was simple; no extra food, no extra mouths. While no one was pleased with the rule, it is fair and people understood that. The last thing anyone wanted was anyone to starve, including kids. My other rule? The deadline is October 23, 2086; no kids under 16 when the Vault opens. I don't want ten year olds in a bad situation, much less infants. Again, people got that. So there's been a bit of a race to make food from the paste, supplies, and rations that we have. I'm… not very hopeful; I'm most certain that Vault-Tec thought this through, considering what the oth…_

"…_nevermind, I regress._

"_So the weddings go off with a hitch save that Rose had been somewhat under the weather leading up to it. Pre-wedding jitters, we all thought. Some morning nausea that she contributed to pre-wedding jitters. She never told anyone that she missed a period because, hey, she's on birth control and no one's had a baby in four years. She missed two periods in a row, in fact, and she went to the Medical Wing to complain about, of all things, overly-tender breasts._

"_One lab workup later to test for cancer showed that her estrogen levels were very high. _

"_Rose is three months pregnant._

"_The young woman was… shocked, and very frightened. Someone babbled despite the general practice of medical confidentiality, and people were demanding to know how it was possible within a few hours, accusing her of missing out on her birth control. But that goes through the Medical Department, and every woman is issued it through there. Upon the discovery, I had taken ahold of things and launched a quiet investigation to find out what happened. Rose came up with her supply, her plastic disk that issued out her birth control supply and it was not only appropriately missing the right amount of pills, but her previous ones had, too. So the investigation to see if there was an issue other than the obvious and to placate the horde of angry women who want babies but couldn't bore fruit._

"_Tampering. Fucking God damn to hell, I would have rather Rose have done something, but the girl's never broken or flouted a rule in her entire life. This was worse._

"_And there indeed was a culprit, and it wasn't accidental, either._

"_Vicky. Of all the people, it was Vicky Trawlers who had done it. What was worse was that it wasn't beneficial or even benign. No, Vicky had done this on purpose and she had done so with a smirk on her face when I encountered her face-to-face while immediately denying anything to do with it despite have electronic evidence and Security Officer Ruki Nakamura comb through the evidence to make sure it was legit and we weren't off-base. _

"_Evidently, this was planned. By Vicky, of all people. This… perplexes me._

"_A few months back after the engagements, Vicky, working in the Medical Wing, is inspecting the birth control pills that the Medical Wing creates every month before delivery. The system's pretty damn foolproof; each set is serial numbered for product, inspector, and person issued. Two-hundred and fifty-two sets of birth control are made every month, they are inspected, and then at the beginning of the month they had issued to the women in the Vault. Now every once in a while a 'bad' batch happens. Inspector merely sets it aside, annotating the serial number of the bad batch, makes a new set, and that gets issued instead of the bad batch, and the bad batch gets destroyed. Again, pretty simple._

"_Five months ago, a bad batch had been made. This was right after the duel-engagement, actually. This is starting to make more sense._

"_Now Vicky, as a nurse, is also the Inspecting Officer, which that duty rotates from month to month, but on that time it was her. She inspects the two-hundred and fifty-two cases of birth control. One comes up a bad batch. It happens, no big deal, nobody gets alarmed. Just push it to the side, make a new set. _

"_But Vicky didn't._

"_The electronic records are clear. The bad set was annotated as being destroyed by Vicky Trawlers, annotated by its serial number. No new set was made. A few days later, the serial number that pertains to the bad batch of birth control is issued out… to Rose Miller/Collins, by Vicky Trawlers. Now, I'm trying to look for human error or idiocy here, but Vicky simply didn't do her job. A bad batch could have been forgotten to be destroyed, but then put with the rest? New batch forgotten to be made? Bad batch gets issued by the same person that screws it up? And then it goes to one of two women who just got publicly and popularly engaged? And the woman in question is your blood-kin that you use to browbeat and dragged to a Vault so you could have your way with a boy? Just… too many damn questions, and Ruki, a former Detective, agrees. This… was deliberate and intentional, of malicious intent, Nakamura says. And I agree._

"_This could not come at a worse time, and it could not have happened in a worse way. This is getting ugly. _

"_The 'no baby' issue has been getting steam as the deadline approaches, four years from now. Despite logic, there's two hundred plus women in the prime of their lives with what I like to call Empty Womb Syndrome. Even the intellectuals are realizing that when we're released in 2102, the youngest of the Vault-Tec Originals is going to forty-three when the door opens, and even Rose, our youngest resident, will be thirty-eight. Yes, women _can_ have babies at fifty, but that's not what people are thinking about. I fear that in the next ten years or so, some of our older female residents are going to be starting menopause and realize that they'll never get a chance to be mothers. I'm firmly in that group myself, though I firmly admit that Brian, Lucas, and Rose have been come surrogate children to me over these past years._

"_The Project is about to hit its third year, and we still haven't grown a single sprout, a single ounce of anything. Things… are looking grim._

"_And then this happens. God, I've got two-hundred plus catty women who want a child of their own now all up in arms, and about half the men who really do want to be fathers, too. This is a damn mess._

"_I'm sorry, Rose. This day is meant to be a special one for a woman's life, but it's turned out so wrong. But thankfully, Lucas, Brian, and even Abigail are standing right by your side; God bless them! Even Colonel Andrew Vince, the man who helped raise Brian Jensen, is right by Rose's side; a Bronze Medal-awardee and Medal of Honor-winner glaring at anyone who'd dare mess with Rose. She was bawling in my arms, pleading for me to believe her that she had nothing to do with it. I believed her and told her the investigation was just as much to exonerate her in the people's eyes as it was to discover how it happened._

"_I had to figuratively publicly crucify Vicky in front of the whole damn Vault to keep things more-or-less from exploding. I didn't want to do that, but I really didn't see any other option that would have made anything better. I've remanded her to Sanitation permanently when an interrogation resulted in nothing substantial. She seemed all too elated of her cousin's predicament, both surprising pregnancy and the public backlash, while nasally insisting that she didn't do anything. It was like she turned back to that fifteen year old little tramp that didn't seem to understand that simple verbal denials don't actually mean shit without anything substantial to back it up. We had evidence of her malfeasance, and showed it to her. She denies all this, but it's her electronic signature on her terminal, and she certainly handed her cousin the bad batch of birth control that was the center of this whole fiasco. Doctor Michelle Lambert has instituted a duel-check system now for the birth control and other regulated items, just as blindsided as the rest of us. She trusted Vicky, and now Vicky has put a very ugly spotlight on a very honorable position. God, please don't let anyone else fuck this up and we find ourselves a dozen little extra mouths to feed in the next year or two. Shit will go downhill _real_ quick if that happens._

"_This… should have been a good day. For Rose, for Lucas, for Brian and Abigail, for all of us. Instead… politics. Even in a Vault._

"_This is Overseer Adrienne Barbeau, signing off."_

_[crackle]_

* * *

"_Overseers' Log, March 22, 2082._

"_Rose Collins has hit her sixteen week mark; she's officially in the Second Trimester. She went for a standard pre-natal check-up and practically barreled into my office._

"_Samantha Lynn Collins will be the name of her daughter._

"_I'm happy for her of course, and I don't need to be told the origins of that name; Rose's little sister, the five-year old girl gone forever when the door closed and the bombs fell. Rose is so elated, and… she's glowing. A mother-to-be, and she's got that glow. We did an announcement, and whatever animosity or hurt feelings there were amongst the womenfolk of the Vault practically evaporated as the thought of our first child being born became more real. Lucas is beaming too, and… God they're going to make great parents, I can tell. We made it happen, and we're going to see our first baby in almost five years._

"_I'm really trying not to hammer the Project personnel, but we need that damn thing up and running. A Vault full of geniuses and experts, and we haven't grown one Goddamn weed. One of the Engineer suggested some kind of nutrient paste made from moss, mold, lichen… it's really getting to that. Vat-grown food just isn't working out for some reason. I'm strongly suspecting that Vault-Tec may have done something to ensure that those doors open in twenty-five years with five hundred people, or perhaps… God please don't let us be one of those experimental Vaults and we were all lied to, even me._

"_Samantha… it's a good name for a little girl._

"_This is Overseer Adrienne Barbeau, signing off."_

_[crackle]_

* * *

"_Overseers' Log, May 19, 2082._

"_God, Rose is _huge_! I know I shouldn't say that about a woman, but she's almost in her Third Trimester, and it's like someone went and stuffed a watermelon in her Vault Suit! She can't even wear a normal one, and we had to make up a maternity one for her. Still, Rose is glowing even more, somehow, and Lucas is giddy. No surprise, Brian and Abigail Jensen are there every step of the way, obviously going to be Uncle and Aunt to young Samantha. I got a surprise visit from Rose and she let me feel Samantha moving within her and… ugh, I went and got Empty Womb Syndrome myself for a good solid moment. But seeing here there, big as a house but a smile a mile wide, Rose is truly taking to motherhood like a woman should._

"_She… she asked me to be the Godmother. I was struck speechless._

"_I accepted, of course, but I realized that of all the women who had been in Rose's life, even Jill Thompson who taught her chemistry and biology, she saw _me_ as the mother figure. Back during those first days after the Vault closed, Rose was in my office every day for months, me making sure she was doing well, adjusting, seeing to her. Now I know what I must have been to her in the eyes of a young girl in a trying time; a kind and caring matriarch who had taken time out of her day to make she she was fine and happy. I've been in her life for years, seeing to her, and… it just really hit me what I must mean to those kids. To the others, I'm the authority figure, but to Brian, Lucas, and Rose, I ended up that matriarchal figure when things were uncertain, the foundation they needed and the guidance were likely oh so hoping for to make good in their lives. I was a mother-figure for these kids and… it's touching. It broke my heart in a good way, and now I'm going to be something in between a Godmother and a grandmother._

"_The due date is tentatively set at November 20. I, like many, are looking forward to Samantha's arrival. _

"_This is Overseer Adrienne Barbeau, signing off."_

_[crackle]_

* * *

"_Overseers' Log, October 30, 2082._

"_We've hit the five year anniversary with a party, and had another little bit of a party a week later; our first baby scare._

"_Rose and Lucas acted like all brand-new parents did; they lost their damn minds and ran around like hamsters in a wheel while in full-panic mode thinking this was it! Lucas was carting Rose in a rolling office chair down the hall while Rose is clutching her grossly-huge belly and practically singing 'the baby is coming' for everyone with a pair of ears to hear. Two hours later, they're leaving the Medical Wing as sheepish as hell and profusely apologizing to everyone as Rose is still very pregnant and no baby in her arms. Most of us are completely understanding; these things do happen. But it's a signal to us all._

"_A week, perhaps ten days, we're going to be the host of a squalling newborn child._

"_God… it can't come soon enough. Samantha, you're probably the most important child in the world right now. Mostly likely the most anticipated one._

"_This is Overseer Adrienne Barbeau, signing off."_

_[crackle]_

* * *

"_Overseers' Log, November 5, 2082. _

"_I… [sob]… oh God, how did it all go so fucking wrong? I just… [slam]… I just had to make the most painful decision I've ever made in my life! [sob] Oh Rose, I'm so fucking sorry, honey. I know this would be what you would have chosen but… [sob]… I had to make that decision. For Samantha. I'm so fucking sorry._

"_I'm going to fucking kill that two-timing slutty cunt! How the fuck did Vicky get ahold of… of _anthrax_? What in the fuck was she thinking? I… [sob]_

"_Brian and Abigail Jensen are dead. [sob] Lucas and Rose Collins are dead. I… don't know what happened or how, but Colonel Andrew Vince was curious why his son hadn't come to work today and went to Brian and Abby's room and… God… they were _dead_. Not peacefully either. When I got word that Rose hadn't showed up to the Chemistry Department or Lucas to the Engineering Department… God I thought my heart was torn out. [sob] Lucas, that brave, wonderful boy… he was already dead, cradling his dying wife and unborn daughter, having died in his sleep but in agony. I… [sob]… called the Medical Wing and had them rush to Rose, who was still barely alive but… Doctor Lambert said it was damn near too late; she had almost passed the point of no return. [sob] Rose… honey… I'm so fucking sorry…_

"_Michelle Lambert said she could save one; mother… or child._

"_I'm not a fucking medical expert, a Doctor, or any of that. I have Master's in Business Administration. [slam] Yet I had to make that choice, a choice for the woman who looked to me as mother, to make the choice any real woman would make. I… I held Rose's hand as they gave her an emergency Cesarean Section to save Samantha, Rose's vitals too weak to handle the emergency surgery despite how simple and bloodless it really is. Rose… oh my poor, poor dear, you passed away with me holding your hand as they saved the baby you never got to hold, Lucas right next to you. I… [sob]… I need to find some comfort in that you were together at the end if I don't want to lose my damn mind. I… [sob]_

"_I… have custody of Samantha Lynn Collins. She will have her parents' name, and she will know who they are. Brian and Abigail, too. They deserve it. Brian had been so looking forward to being an uncle, Abigail having made Samantha baby clothes. I just… [sob]… don't think it a waste, don't you dare! They were wonderful people, and God I just… [sob]_

"_I'm had Ruki Nakamura launch an investigation on how the fuck this happened while Doctor Lambert performed the autopsy. Fucking… anthrax. I mean… I only knew of it as a term from back during the Resource War, something the government warned us about but didn't even know about. Some… mold or fungus that occurs naturally but generally benign! Someone had to craft it into a lethal biological contaminate and delivered it into the rooms of Brian and Abigail, and Lucas and Rose. Ruki found a homemade chemistry lab in Vicky Trawler's room with some of the necessary ingredients that Jill Thompson said would probably do the trick. That… CUNT… went and made a biological weapon and _killed my children!_ I… [pause] _

"_The Vault knows. Everyone's in mourning. Everyone's angry._

"_The trial starts tomorrow, and I doubt it will be long or be very fair._

"_I just… wish… Lucas and Rose could have seen how beautiful Samantha is. God, she has her father's eyes and her hair is the same color as her mother's. I…_

"_Oh? Look who just woke up? Come here, sweetheart. I got you your bottle here. [pause] I'd… forgotten just how tiny newborns were… they seems so fragile, so precious… _

"_Michelle had one of her assistants do the normal pre-lims for Samantha. Perfectly healthy, weighing in a seven pounds and three ounces. We suspect she would have been born in the next few days, so here's no complications or anything to worry about. I was a little alarmed by her coloring, being somewhat bluish, but that went away quickly. I… had forgotten that babies don't really 'breath' so much as get oxygenated blood from their months, and coming in somewhat reddish or bluish is actually pretty normal. She's pooping out black tar, which is expected, and… God, she fits in my hand! I knew babies were small, but but she can lay in my hand and on my forearm easily! It's… mesmerizing, really. Seeing those tiny little toes, that pudgy bloated belly, that face that looks so grumpy, just looking at things and probably wondering what all this new stuff is. God knows what babies think but, one look at those eyes and I just melt._

"_Samantha, you're… perfect. Absolutely perfect._

"_And I'm going to make sure absolutely nothing bad ever happens to you. Over my dead fucking body and then some._

_[squawk]_

"_Oh, I think someone's got a little gas, c'mere, beautiful. Let's get that belly happy. [patting noises] Ugh, I think I missed the burp rag. Yep. Spit-up on the Vault Suit. Let's get you cleaned up, sweetheart, and check your nappy. I… whoop, got a present for me, don't you? Let's change that nappy, dear, get you all nice and cleaned up, shall we? Couple of weeks of this and I can call myself a professional, huh? Is that what I am, Samantha? Look at those little toesies! Let's see if I can get you to smile, huh? Fed, burped and cleaned, I should get me a little reward? Let's see if this tiny little foot has a tiny little ticklish spot, shall we? Oh, there we go! We got us some gums and… _

"…_oh honey… you… you have your mother's smile. [sniffle] Best kind to have._

"_Oh crap, left the recorder…"_

_[end tape]_

* * *

Author's Note: I kinda wanted to break/rip your heart with this. You get a little bit of the lives of the 'kids', and then swoop! There goes the carpet. I did mention that Sam was the only child in the Vault, and now you know why. But as the infomercials like to say; wait… there's more! One more tape to go. And you probably won't see it coming.

Anthrax - From what I remember without garnering attention from people looking this up on the internet, Anthrax is a naturally-occurring spore that isn't harmful in its natural state in even fair quantities. But it can be made lethal (and a biological contaminate) through some process of concentration. I remember when Post Offices were receiving this and were particularly afraid of it in the late 90's and early 2000's. I guess CNN was good for something other than pushing the conservative agenda!


End file.
